Do you still buy hard copies of books on issues or do you read everything online

I still like having books.

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Does anyone here not buy any books on economics, various poliical issues, commentary, history, etc but instead just finds stuff online to read? There has never been an easier time to do the latter- has anyone here stopped buying hard copies of books and instead just watch videos or read articles online about issues you are interested in learning about?

Personally, I still favor the old fashioned way.

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I consume news and current events online. I still read historical and scholarly works almost exclusively in hard copy. I probably buy 3-4 books per month (and my parents are always sending me stuff) but I have a backlog of at least 25 books. Don't read nearly as much as I used to. And I'm studying for the GRE and FSOT, so there's that.

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I have many leather bound books.

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I bought a nice leatherbound copy of the US constitution complete with all the federalist papers and early writings of the founders. It's the barnes and noble edition.

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Both, but I have hundreds of books.

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Same. I still have all my shite from college and I buy so much. I have a couple of good-sized bookcases full and my office at home just has them stacked up waste high all around.

Personally, I buy novels that I want to read online and read them on my MacBook. However, I have a decent sized library of hardbacks. I'm often given books as a gift, so I still read actual books as well.

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Oh the 10 year wall huh? just 20 more and thats a rap

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I've all but made the decision. I'm working with my detailer and community manager to figure out if I'm entitled to any severance (typically only available if you don't make rank and are involuntarily separated) or if I qualify for the upcoming "blended" retirement system. Got notification from OPM that I should, but I don't know if that's impacted if I submit my resignation before 31 December of this year. And I'm still not clear on the benefits structure.

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Do not get all the way out, Reserves is to easy and with 10 active it would be a nice chunk every month.

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Nah. I always said that if I didn't do 20 I was just getting all the way out. Out of the military and the IC. Not coming back as a civilian in the same field. Just walking.

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The FSO exam is a bitch.

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I whipped the shite out of a practice test I took, but most of the folks I've talked to in the field say the actial test is a good bit harder. I have a pretty strong educational and prof background in most subjects covered and am a decent writer, but I really want to do well if I go that route. It's already as competitive as getting into an Ivy, and the hiring "freeze" won't help.

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DoS is excepted service they hire who they want when they want.

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Right. That's why I put freeze in quotations. The civilians that I work with are excepted service as well, but they've been told to slow hiring to a crawl. Two good friends who recently received firm offers from DIA have been told that they are still in the "pipeline" but their start dates have been cancelled.